A poster from the 173rd Airborne made these comments about the Korengal. He correctly identifies the photo of that I'm so enamoured as actually in a valley a bit further south. Good post by him-
"After days of reading the blogosphere’s reaction and commentary, I feel compelled to address some of my strong concerns with the article, as a currently deployed soldier in the 173rd who has walked the terrain in the Korengal. The article, while certainly important in that it succinctly illustrates the challenges we face as a Brigade here in Northeastern Afghanistan in a national forum, portrays a no longer accurate snapshot in time. The author’s time at the KOP occurred prior to and during a major, Battalion-plus operation whose effects along with the grinding, daily efforts of Battle Company, have radically altered the Korengal Valley in our favor. LTC Fenzel’s article in this month’s Military Review regarding his experience as the CTF Devil DCO in 2005 states that, “The most contested region in RC East during OEFVI was the Wahabbiist stronghold in the Kore¬ngal River Valley, in the center of Kunar province.” That very statement would remain valid if applied to the operating environment only a few months ago. Since then we have gained a much stronger foothold not only in the physical territory of the valley, but most importantly, in the trust and confidence of the valley’s residents. This success is obviously reflected in huge reduction in kinetic activity in the valley, but more importantly and enduringly, in our ability to begin construction of a paved road into the Korengal Valley using never before available valley-native labor. The aforementioned Chai, previously only consumed by “the other unit having chi down the valley and singing kumbuyah with the locals” is now a part of daily patrols and weekly shuras in the Korengal.
None of this recent success belies the tremendous sacrifice borne by the soldiers of Battle Company that will be with each and every soldier who has served there for the rest of their lives. It is easy to question our presence in one of the least developed, most disconnected and hostile locations on Earth, but Battle Company is both shaping their battlespace and enabling security throughout Konar.
On another note, the photo below is the one described by S-2. It actually depicts an overwatch position near Chowkay south of the Korengal. The river in the distance is the Konar River."
He suggests that things are dramatically changed in just the last two months since these articles and video were taken and sounds as though he intimately knows the A.O.
This is great news and a resounding victory, if so, for the men of B Company 2-503. This land has heretofore been inpenetrable. Utterly.
This is the MILITARY REVIEW article to which Meinertzhagen refers-
Combating A Modern Insurgency: Combined Task Force Devil In Afghanistan-Military Review